Apollo Chamber Players presents the world premiere of 20x2020 commission No. 15 by legendary Cuban composer Leo Brouwer. Performance as part of 'Brazilian Beats' program, September 29, 2018 at Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston (MATCH).
String Quartet No. 6 “Nostalgia de las Montañas” (2018) Leo Brouwer
20X2020 NO. 15 WORLD PREMIERE
I. Introduction • II. Preámbulo • III. Sonata
APOLLO CHAMBER PLAYERS
Anabel Ramirez Detrick, violin I • Matthew J. Detrick, violin II Whitney Bullock, viola • Matthew Dudzik, cello
Note:
Cuarteto No. 6 “Nostalgia de las Montañas” (Nostalgia of the Mountains) by Leo Brouwer was commissioned by Apollo Chamber Players as part of the ensemble’s 20x2020 project. It is comprised of three movements - Introduction, Preámbulo, and Sonata - played attacca, or without pause.
Conveying the composer’s fondness for Brazil’s marvelous landscapes and mountain vistas, the quartet evokes nostalgia through a wistful melody, introduced in the opening movement by the first violin. This motive undergoes numerous melodic and rhythmic transformations throughout the piece, supported by undulating, asymmetric meters in the accompanimental lines. While there are no direct references to Brazilian beat patterns, the work’s groovy, shifting rhythms are inspired by the frenetic energy of this country’s popular Afro-Brazilian folk dances like the samba and jongo. The Preámbulo and Sonata movements end with nearly identical Codas of leaping intervals and repetitive, hard rock-sounding chords pulsating through irregular metric patterns (10/8, 2/4, 9/8, 5/4, 7/4...) to an epic conclusion.
States the composer: “My irregular meters are used as thematic extensions or reductions, and also a way to reaffirm the character and ideas of Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music.”
Cuarteto No. 6 “Nostalgia de las Montañas” was premiered in Houston, Texas on September 29, 2018.
--- note by Matthew J. Detrick, Apollo Chamber Players
More at: apollochamberplayers.org
Videography: Ben Doyle, Runaway Productions
Audio: Ryan Edwards and Shannon Smith, Coincident Sound
Special thanks to commission underwriters Lorenzo Martinez, Shelby Allen and Polly Johnson, and Roger and Candice Moore.
